Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Wicked Wednesday ---- Sabrina the Teen-age Witch

I found this a few months ago at an Antique Mall in Pennsylvania, and even though it was more than I usually spend, I couldn't resist since it was complete and in such good shape.

The costume itself seems a little unusual to me --- it consists of a rain-slicker yellow skirt with a hard elastic waistband. There's no design on the skirt. Then there's the poncho shown above, with Sabrina on one side, and Salem on the other. Also, the character design appears to be the original Dan DeCarlo Sabrina from the early 60's when she served as an erstwhile mascot for Archie's Madhouse comics.

The original character design was more of a sexpot look, with sultry half-lidded eyes and pronounced freckles. But by the time this costume came out in 1971, other artists had sanitized her into more of the wide-eyed Betty look. She was starring in her own Saturday morning cartoon. And Salem also looked substantially different. Maybe they used an old style guide.

Also notable is the copyright of "Archie Merchandising Corp". I would have expected Filmation, given this is touted as a "TV Hero Costume".